ATTITUDE OF NURSES TOWARDS THE CARE OF ELDERLY PATIENTS IN SELECTED HEALTH CENTRES IN ILORIN METROPOLIS, KWARA STATE, NIGERIA.
Authors/Creators
- 1. Department of Mental Health and Psychiatric Nursing , Faculty of Nursing, Niger Delta University, Wilberforce Island, Bayelsa State
- 2. Ilorin West Local Government, Health/Nursing Department, Ilorin, Kwara State
- 3. Civil Service Hospital and Maternity, Ilorin, Kwara State, Nigeria.
Description
Ageing is one of the national phenomena common to all races globally. Elderly individuals are always seen as giving increased burden on families and societies because most of them are incapable of performing their activities of daily living independently. This study investigates the attitude of nurses towards the care of the elderly patients either at home and work environments and especially in a selected health centres in Ilorin Metropolis, Kwara State, Nigeria. Sixty nurses were conveniently sampled for the study and the result showed differences in the nurses’ attitudes in the care of the elderly, these differences were premised on their knowledge, gender, religion, age and experience in the profession. It is therefore recommended that there is an urgent need for Nursing and Midwifery Council of Nigeria to introduce and design a curriculum for Gerontological nursing as a specialty course in Nursing Education to better the knowledge and care of the aged by the nurses.